The wife, kids and i were just beginning to leave our marina on our 1999 H260 this weekend when the keel scraped bottom, we have scraped bottom several times over the years and being in florida sand never gave it much thought. We were in light winds and the bump only lasted a second.
After hoisting the main sail i noticed the boat not responding well and not sailing in a straight line, afterwards I thought it was due to my rudder not being kicked down fully.
When i got back to dock and cleaning up the sheets, i noticed the swing keel line being slack. I figured the line had broken possibly during the bump.
I decided to snorkel under the boat yesterday afternoon and found, to my great dismay, the swing keel and bracket entirely gone!
I cannot check the keel bolt under the dinette because a previous owner filled the entire compartment with silicon to stop a leak. I will start to dig out silicon to make the repair.
My questions are as follow:
-Would not the keel bolt have to snap plus the rope line break for the keel to drop off? I have not pulled the rope line up all the way as I have read it can be used to pull a new line through.
-I have emailed Foss Foam to make a new centerboard and they will to the tune of about $1300.
- I plan on calling Hunter marine about a new bracket. Any other thoughts on where to get/make a new one? Anyone know of any sailboat salvage yards?
The sad part is i am about to pull the boat and was planning on replacing the swing keel line at that time and any hardware that was corroded. The previous owner had also told me he had replaced the line, there fore it was never of great concern to me.
Ill keep everyone posted to my progress.
Ugh,
Larry
After hoisting the main sail i noticed the boat not responding well and not sailing in a straight line, afterwards I thought it was due to my rudder not being kicked down fully.
When i got back to dock and cleaning up the sheets, i noticed the swing keel line being slack. I figured the line had broken possibly during the bump.
I decided to snorkel under the boat yesterday afternoon and found, to my great dismay, the swing keel and bracket entirely gone!
I cannot check the keel bolt under the dinette because a previous owner filled the entire compartment with silicon to stop a leak. I will start to dig out silicon to make the repair.
My questions are as follow:
-Would not the keel bolt have to snap plus the rope line break for the keel to drop off? I have not pulled the rope line up all the way as I have read it can be used to pull a new line through.
-I have emailed Foss Foam to make a new centerboard and they will to the tune of about $1300.
- I plan on calling Hunter marine about a new bracket. Any other thoughts on where to get/make a new one? Anyone know of any sailboat salvage yards?
The sad part is i am about to pull the boat and was planning on replacing the swing keel line at that time and any hardware that was corroded. The previous owner had also told me he had replaced the line, there fore it was never of great concern to me.
Ill keep everyone posted to my progress.
Ugh,
Larry
